What did Jeff Hoover say about sexual harassment? When did he say it? Take a look

A clip from April 14, 2014 shows that as a minority leader, Jeff Hoover was a vocal critic of the House Democratic leadership for not being strong in pressing for facts in the sexual harassment complaint against Democratic Rep. John Arnold.
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Jeff Hoover, Speaker of the Kentucky State House of Representatives makes a point during the roll out of a state pension reform plan. On left is Governor Matt Bevin. Oct. 18, 2017.(Photo: By Pat McDonogh / C-J)Buy Photo

FRANKFORT, Ky. - When Jeff Hoover was the leader of the then-minority House Republicans, he blasted House Democratic leadership for how it handled sexual harassment allegations in 2013 against then-Rep. John Arnold, a Democrat.

"Who knew what? When did they know it? And what action did they take?" Hoover said on the House floor on April 14, 2014. "Those questions have been asked for months and nobody wants to provide answers to that."

Hoover, of Jamestown, now finds himself tangled in a sexual harassment controversy. A report from Courier Journal Wednesday said Hoover reached a confidential settlement last week with a woman on his own staff who accused him of sexual harassment.

Many members of both parties that day criticized the Legislative Ethics Commission's failure to take action against Arnold a week earlier. (The commission revisited the Arnold case a month later, however, and found him guilty of three counts of harassment and fined him $3,000.)

Arnold had resigned from the House in September of 2013, soon after the charges were made public.

On April 14, 2014, the House was debating an amendment to a bill to reform ethics commission processes.

Hoover supported the amendment, but also raised questions about how complaints of the staffers against Arnold were initially handled by the Democratic leadership. He also complained that a special committee appointed in late 2013 by then-House Speaker Greg Stumbo to investigate Arnold disbanded because it concluded it could not take action against Arnold because he was no longer a member of the House.

"Where was everyone on this floor when that committee abruptly terminated and ended any work. No hearing. No testimony. No evidence. No answers to the questions," Hoover said.